220 KINDRED GROUP-MARRIAGE 



enenkel, eninchil for aninchli, the little ano or a/me, 

 which we have seen applies to their older ascendants. 1 



(9) As we have already dealt with brother and 

 sister as words containing general evidence of the primi- 

 tive kindred group-marriage, we may now pass to the 

 terms for son and daughter. 



One of the first desires of the parents of a new-born 

 child is to ascertain its sex. Is it a boy or a girl ? 

 This must be at once announced to the community. 

 The nomads of Central Asia indicated the sex by 

 placing spear or distaff at the entrance of the tent. 

 The Greeks put an olive wreath for a boy and wool for 

 a girl at the door of the house. The South American 

 Indians place a weapon for a boy and a spindle for a 

 girl. The negroes of New Guinea a bow for the son and 

 a stir-about stick or cooking-spoon for the daughter. 

 The ancient Chinese marked the male birth by a bow 

 to the left, and the female by a girdle to the right of 

 the door. The Dutch indicate by the colour of a silk 

 pad fastened to the knocker the sex of the new member 

 of the community, and there is little doubt that the 

 glove formerly seen on English doors originally indicated 

 by its colour or position the same thing. The routine 

 and festivities which, in all parts of the world, follow 

 birth take their character and magnitude from the sex 

 of the new-born child. The sex is thus seen to be of 

 first importance, not only to the parents, but to the 



1 Compare ohmchen for niece. I doubt the objection raised by Grimm to this 

 derivation, namely, that the enJcel is not a ' little forefather.' Clearly the niece 

 is not a 'little uncle,' yet she is termed ohmchen. The term ano being applied 

 to a particular group in the community, it was not a long step to term little 

 anan, a group of the same constitution which had not yet reached maturity. 



